


Replica

by Kahika



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-11
Updated: 2015-04-11
Packaged: 2018-03-20 09:30:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3645315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kahika/pseuds/Kahika
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Shepard's clone didn't let go of the <i>Normandy</i> and instead reluctantly joined the team: Five times she had a minor identity crisis and Shepard didn't want to deal with it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Replica

**Author's Note:**

> Non-biotic femshep romancing either Liara or Garrus (it's a throwaway line); Omega completed before Citadel; Flare as bonus power.
> 
> Did anyone else get a haircut when _3_ was like "hey here's the facial construction screen again even though this time we got no good in-game excuse like bringing you back from the dead"? My Shepard went from a bun in the first two games to a pixie cut. Because I could.

"What I want to know is how you even ended up with short hair," Shepard says, staring across the shuttle bay at the clone. "I had long hair when I died, when they revived me - I chopped my hair off in lockdown."

James snips her hair particularly loudly. “ _I_ chopped your hair off in lockdown."

"I was wondering how all this started," says Steve.

"She was bored," James explains.

"It just seemed impractical," says the clone, without looking up from the weapons bench. "I cut it off the first time they handed me a pair of scissors. It got tidied up to look more like yours when some CAT6ers found more recent footage of you on the Battlespace."

Oh, duh, she should have expected they'd try to make her look like her. A Commander Shepard with suddenly long hair would have clued in the galaxy in a hurry. Well, it's not like she was trained for undercover work.

"You'd _think_ it's more practical, but you just end up getting haircuts more often," Shepard grumbles, rather than admit she hadn't thought of that. "And if you don't have time, you end up not being able to see for a week."

The clone nods in agreement, and Shepard is a little aghast to find they have something more personal than their DNA in common.

"I think I might start growing it out again," Shepard says. "If only so it's easier for people to tell us apart."

James starts. "But I thought you _liked_ your haircuts down here."

"No, you know what, I'll grow mine out, and I'll dye it," says the clone. "Find my own style. Besides, _I'm_ not Alliance. I don't have to keep within regs."

A small part of Shepard is relieved to not have to give up her shuttle bay trims. "Just don't go _too_ ridiculous. I want to keep _some_ standards on this ship."

"What do you mean, standards? You're sleeping with an alien."

Shepard decks her. For the next week, the crew tells them apart by the clone's black eye.

 

"Can I just say something?" says the clone, who's platinum blonde this week. "I don't really appreciate being called 'the clone' all the time. Or 'Cloney the clone' like I get from Moreau."

"You're as bad as Javik for calling everyone else by their species," Tali points out.

The clone, or whoever, ignores her. "Look, I get it: You don't want to call me Shepard because it's confusing, and I don't have an official rank. Maybe I should get a _name_. Even your pet geth got a name."

"You could be Sheppy," Garrus suggests.

"The volus," adds Shepard, and everyone gives her blank looks as she laughs. Where's Grunt when she needs someone to be in on an in joke?

Her half-sister Sheppy the volus rolls her eyes and pulls up a human baby name site on her omnitool. "I'll work on it."

"Loca," James offers.

"Too close to Lola," Shepard objects.

"I'll put in a requisition order for nametags," Steve says cheerfully.

 

The clone is looking even more disgusted than usual when Shepard sits across from her in the mess. Maybe she doesn't like her new hair color: This morning she went bright green.

"What?"

She throws a jar at her. Shepard catches it before it smacks into her face, and examines the label.

"Vegemite? God, did Miranda leave this here?"

"The turian said you didn't like it, so I wanted to see if preferences are hard coded into our tastebuds or if it's personal," the clone says sourly.

Shepard smirks. "Any conclusions?"

"I need more data," says Sheppy. (She's never going to tell Garrus _or_ Grunt that that's how she often thinks of the clone.) "From something that isn't _universally_ disgusting."

Despite herself, Shepard's smirk softens into a smile. "I like Tupari. Peanut butter on apples. French fries in ice cream. Asari honey mead."

The clone stands, going to the freezer. "I like Paragade better than Tupari. But I've never tried ice cream."

"Paragade? Seriously?" says Shepard, shaking her head. "Someone at Cerberus screwed _that_ one up."

 

"I'm Commander Shepard," she says to the Alliance scientist. "This is Commander Williams, and, um. My. Twin sister."

The team settled on this cover story within a day of the clone joining the _Normandy_ , but she can feel Ashley's smirk without even looking at her, and she wishes she wouldn't. She's not like Miranda, perfect enough to call her clone her sister, even her twin until everyone pointed out how misleading and confusing that was. Shepard is an only child and as much as she loves Wrex, thirty's far too old for that to change. But Sheppy the volus is back to her cloned hair color, so they look even more like twins than usual.

"Sarah," the clone supplies.

Ashley chokes on nothing. Excusing herself from the scientist, Shepard pulls the clone aside. "You can't be Sarah. That's Private Campbell, and also Ashley's sister. Her actual sister, not her excuse for a clone."

"Sorry, am I supposed to check potential names against everyone you've ever met?" she demands. "Should I check the War Terminal every time I think a name sounds fine? Oh, no, I can't: Westmoreland and Campbell won't let me in."

Shepard grinds her teeth, but stops when she realizes the clone is too. "We'll talk later. Look, just - go look for Barrier Engines while I get a sitrep."

Sheppy - no, Sarah this week, apparently - stalks off, and Shepard sighs.

 

"You know what's been bothering me?" asks the clone.

"Everything bothers you," Shepard points out. She's almost starting to regret letting her join the Normandy; it's that annoying. "But I'm going to go with your continued inability to pick a name."

"No, that's what bothers _you_ when you're trying to introduce me to people," says the clone, giving her a pointed look before continuing. "You used Flare. Against CAT6, against me, every time you see a husk or more than one Cerberus agent within two metres of each other. You're not biotically trained - Cerberus didn't bother giving me eezo exposure. How the hell do you do it?"

Gingerly, Shepard takes out her amp and passes it over for the clone to examine.

"I have this -" She pauses, because how does one describe the queen of Omega? "Friend. Asari matriarch, very powerful biotic. Surprisingly good teacher. And she has access to some very illegal implants and experimental amp models that even untrained biotics can use."

The clone whistles, holding up the amp to where it would fit to her own skull if she had an implant. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"It seemed useful," Shepard defends herself. "Certainly useful against you and Brooks."

"Shut up," says the clone, and she passes it back.

Shepard decides to throw her a bone. "It gives me a hell of a headache if I use it too much," she admits. "And it's the only biotic thing I can do, no pulling glasses over to me or anything. Liara tried to teach me Stasis but I feel like I can only hold one thing in my head."

The clone looks thoughtful. "I bet I could do a couple of things."

Shepard rolls her eyes. "Yeah, good luck with that. I doubt Aria would teach you."

Sheppy's hand is on her omnitool before Shepard shakes her head. "You already tried to steal my life. You're not stealing my e-mail contacts."

"Fine."

She sighs. "I didn't get to where I am now just because I'm lucky, and I didn't beat you in the shuttle bay because I can Flare and you can't. I came this far because even when things seem impossible, you can learn a lot from your friends." She can't resist adding, "Which you'd know, if you had any."

Too far, maybe: The clone's frowning at her feet, and in a weird way it reminds her of _Jack_. Shepard attempts to dig herself out of her hole. "Maybe you should give it a try."

"Maybe," says the clone, and she gets up and leaves the lounge.


End file.
